Sweet Home Chicago: B's Fans Should Root For 'Hawks

With the Boston Bruins out of picture, Bruins fans are finding themselves in search of a new team to root for. With just four teams left in the chase to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, the options are simple. Two in the East, two in the West. Simple, right? Oh, quite different.

In the Eastern Conference, the favorite to advance to the Stanley Cup has to be the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're led by the "face" of the NHL in Sidney Crosby and their talent stretches roster deep. This is the Penguins 2nd consecutive trip to the Conference Finals. Despite losing key pieces of their 2007-08 Cup run in Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa the Penguins fought their way back near the top of the East under at-the-time interim head coach Dan Byslma. If Crosby can continue to lead the way with his incredible playoff play, the Penguins odds to advance are quite high.

Just because they're the favorites, doesn't mean Bruins fans should root for them. Most Bruins/fans-of-teams-outside-of-Pittsburgh fans can't stand Sidney Crosby, myself included and still don't want to see him raise a Stanley Cup at the age of 21. Perhaps the one thing the Penguins had going for them with Bruins fans was the fact that former Bruin and Massachusetts native Billy Guerin was on their roster..then you look and see so is Hal Gill. Not only that, but they're not too far removed from a Stanley Cup Championship (1990-91 and 1991-92). I'm still not ready to cheer for a city who was a contract signing away from losing their hockey team to the city of Kansas City.

Opposing them are the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that broke, crushed, put back together and then re-broke the hearts of the Boston Bruins to get there. Like Pittsburgh, their push to the Conference Finals was led by the introduction of a new coach. However, for Carolina, this "new" coach was a familiar face in Paul Maurice. Maurice was the coach of the Hartford Whalers when they became the Carolina Hurricanes, and stayed with the 'Canes all the way until he was fired 30 games into the 2003-04 season. Under Maurice, the Hurricanes went on a torrid tear through the NHL, finishing with the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Although the wound is still fresh, the Hurricanes aren't necessarily a hate-worthy team. They simply outworked the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference with team-work, hard-work and never giving up. Even when their team was on the brink of elimination against the New Jersey Devils, the heartbeat of the Carolina Hurricanes simply wouldn't die. A sentimental note for those interested in the 'Canes is the fact that Boston villain Scott Walker's wife was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, adding an emotional touch into the 'Canes drive to their 2nd cup in 4 years. Despite the emotions, the arrogance of Eric Staal, Paul Maurice and Jussi Jokinen along with 18,000 cowbells (a criminal offence if you ask me) deem the 'Canes unworthy of your root. Plus, they just won it, nobody likes seeing a hard-to-market hockey market raise the Cup twice in a decade.

Out in the Western Conference, it's down to two Original Six rivals: the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Red Wings come into the series as the favorite to win not only the West, but also the Cup. The Red Wings have won 4 of their 11 Stanley Cups within the past 14 years. They only got better over the off-season by adding top-prize free agent Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh back-up Ty Conklin.

Their dominance over the NHL has grown tiresome. The octopus has been played, and their playoff slogan of "The Beard is Back" is just ridiculous. The ridiculous-ness lies within the idea that you can argue that "the Beard" never left considering the Detroit Red Wings haven't missed the NHL Playoffs since the 1989-90 NHL season. Even if the Motor City's economy is collapsing due to Ford's continuing downfall, you won't see me rooting for the Wings to add another Stanley Cup banner to their rafters. They have enough.

Going up against the Red Wings are the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago, much like Boston, is going through a revitalization of hockey within their city. Night in and night out this season the United Center (and even Wrigley Field) was packed with red, black and white. There was no arena in the NHL outside of Montreal that had better attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks and the future keeps growing brighter and brighter.

Before the Rocky Wirtz era began, the team was ran (very poorly) by Rocky's father, Bill. Bill, was a notoriously cheap owner who made controversial moves such as blacking out all Blackhawk home games unless they were national televised, something that never happened and created his own Pay-Per-View network where Hawks fans would have to subscribe for 30 dollars a month in order to watch their favorite team. There was no doubt that the elder Wirtz thrifty ways surely left scorn on to 'Hawks fans everywhere. When Bill Wirtz lost his battle to cancer, the new era of the Blackhawks officially took over.

The Blackhawks are the epitome of a up and coming team. Their off-season was headlined by the additions of Cristobal Huet and puck-moving defensemen Brian Campbell, adding a mix of youth and experience into their line-up. Since then, the Hawks have taken off, registering their 1st 100+ point season for the first time since 1992-93. Like the Penguins and Hurricanes, the Blackhawks went through a coaching change just 9 games into the NHL season, firing Denis Savard and replacing him with Joel Quenneville, a coach who's only missed the playoffs once in 13 seasons of coaching at the NHL level.

The Blackhawks are led by captain Jonathan Toews, who provides phenomenal leadership ability at a young age. Along side Toews, is the first American born player to be taken with the number 1 overall pick, Patrick Kane. Kane has had a phenomenal playoffs thus far, making Roberto Luongo look absolutely foolish in the Blackhawks 6-game series win over the Vancouver Canucks. Undoubtedly the biggest reason for Bruins fans to root for the Blackhawks is the empathy and similarities they share with Chicago fans. Bruins fans know what it's like to have a fan proclaimed "selfish" owner and be stuck in neutral as an organization for several years. Both cities hockey scenes are now alive and out of the bottom of the Conference standings, but still without a Cup. Chicago is currently on their 48th year without a Stanley Cup, the 1960-61 season being the last in which the Blackhawks raised a banner.

The Blackhawks as stated before, are a young team mixed with a group of veterans in a city regaining their love for hockey who are trying to end the significant drought of a Stanley Cup Championship, sound familiar? It's time to pack away that Tim Thomas shirt in favor for a a Nikolai Khabibulin t-shirt as for Bruins fans, the Chicago Blackhawks are the clear choice as to who to root for in this years Stanley Cup chase.

As One Chapter Ends, The Next Chapter Begins

The night is darkest just before the dawn. Perhaps there was no darker end to the Boston Bruins season as it was on Thursday night. When Hurricanes winger and Boston villain Scott Walker ended the Bruins quest for their 1st Stanley Cup in 37 years, Boston fans fell silent and rally towels littered the ice. Despite the rally cries of "We Want It!", the "Believe" signs and the crowd singing along to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" it simply wasn't to be for the 2008-2009 Boston Bruins. However, as this season ends, it's just the beginning of the Bruins bright future.

2008-09 was the year of the Bruins, they dominated almost every team in the NHL and finished with 50+ wins for the first team since the 1992-93 season. They added veteran Mark Recchi at the trading deadline who contributed nicely, losing just Martins Karsums along with Matt Lashoff, who was never really destined for great things in Boston due to the emergence of Matt Hunwick. Along with Hunwick, Czech center David Krejci had a phenomenal breakout year, who's 73 point season and effectiveness as a special teams threat earned him the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award. 2008-09 also marked the year of continuing development of hulking winger Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel and perhaps the most surprising Byron Bitz.

With 2008-09 officially done for the Bruins, it's time to look towards the future.

First off, one of the bigger questions the Bruins have to address is their free agency situation. Both David Krejci and Phil Kessel are the headliners of the Boston Bruins list of restricted free agents. As the case with all restricted free agents, if a player is to accept an offer sheet from another team, depending on the salary the Bruins receive draft picks from that team as compensation. It's safe to say that Kessel and Krejci should command and earn around the 9 million dollar mark between the two of them, but anything more raises interesting questions.

I think it's safe to pencil in David Krejci for a 4 year contract at 4.5 a season, perhaps a little bit more with added incentives. Krejci is definitely the higher priority of the Bruins if you ask me as at just 22, he's already showing signs of becoming a true number one center in the NHL. There's no doubting that his potential is only going up. Whereas Kessel, despite his ability to often make goalies and defensemen look foolish is too inconsistent to command more than money that Krejci. However, due to both players strong post-season play it's possible that they both of their stocks have just raised.

If either player is to go, it'd be due to another team offering big time money. In which case, it's likely that the compensation would be for over 5 million dollars a season. Which would force the other team to send the Bruins at least their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks. Ultimately, if it boils down to it, if Kessel leaving the Bruins brings you in multiple high draft picks, I'm not going to lose sleep thinking that the Bruins had made a terrible choice.

Besides Kessel and Krejci, Bruins defensemen Matt Hunwick and Saskatoon native Byron Bitz are also restricted free agents. Both Hunwick and Bitz made strong strides towards becoming NHL ready players, however neither are ready for big money. In all likelihood, both should sign for around the 850-900 thousand mark, the only difference being that their contracts should become 1-way deals, making them have to go through waivers before getting them sent down to Providence, making them likely to stay with Boston all-season long.

Along with these restricted free agents, the Bruins have an older crop of unrestricted free agents they need to address as well. Headlining this list is life-long Bruin P.J Axelsson, who set career highs in virtually every category this season. Axelsson's current salary cap hit sits at 1.8 million dollars a season, however with the Bruins having to re-sign Kessel and Krejci and the NHL salary cap expected to stay at the same amount of money (if not go down), it's unlikely Chiarelli and Co. will be able to give the Swedish forward and penalty-killing machine a raise, let alone his current salary.

Next in line would have to be the depth guys, such as Stephane Yelle and Shane Hnidy. Both Hnidy and Yelle, provide veteran presences on the lower lines for cheap money. If Yelle and Hnidy can be re-signed for the same amount of money (750k) a piece, then it's probably likely to see them both back with the Bruins. However, this could change if the Bruins decide to hand the reins of 4th line center to Vladimir Sobotka, and 7th defensemen to Johnny Boychuk, who had a very strong year for Providence in the AHL.

Perhaps the biggest question mark is the future of Mark Recchi. Recchi is still a capable NHL player even at the age of 41, but his contract up and his future is uncertain. It's likely that the 5'10 winger with over 1,400 career points will retire, but it's also possible that his thirst to continue playing is still alive and well. If he can be brought back for the same price tag, it's likely that the Bruins will do whatever they can within their power to keep Recchi with the Bruins to provide added veteran presence.

The "automatics" to not return to the Bruins have to be Steve "Watch Me Create A Turnover" Montador and Manny Fernandez. Montador truly never wow'd Bruins fans as he often created turnovers within his own zone and looked to be over-thinking every aspect of the game. Fernandez, who missed over a month due to a back injury, is on the fence on whether he wants to retire or continue playing. The opportunity will surely be there for Fernandez to play as a platoon goalie in Colorado, Ottawa, Detroit or even Philadelphia but there's simply no room for him in Boston as Tuukka Rask looks ready to step into the NHL.

With the NHL having a salary cap, it's unlikely that no cap-saving deals will be made. The 3 players that stick out the most as potential trade-baits to "cap crunch" are Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm and Aaron Ward. All players make over 2 million dollars and could be dealt if it means keeping the Bruins under the NHL salary cap. Ward's veteran presence on defense is greatly appreciated, making it unlikely that he'll be traded on account of his veteran know-how. However, the Bruins performed very well without 2007-08's leading goal scoring Marco Sturm, who missed most of the season with a knee injury and is most likely to be dealt if need be.

With the Bruins done until October, one thing's for sure, it's going to be an interesting summer.

Cowardly 'Cane Dodges Suspension

Come on up, take a spin on the Colin Campbell Wheel of Penalties. As if the inconsistencies of the NHL's first round didn't drive you crazy enough, there's more. Sure, Campbell served out some rightful justice by suspending Donald Brashear for his Game 6 actions against the New York Rangers, but that doesn't right all the wrongs he's made thus far in the NHL Playoffs. Perhaps his biggest mistake was made today, as we were informed that Hurricanes forward Scott Walker will in fact, not be suspended for Game 6 against Boston.

Last night during the Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 in Boston, with just over 2 minutes left in the game Scott Walker gave Aaron Ward a clear as day sucker punch. Ward, obviously wasn't willing to engage in a fight and in my opinion wasn't expecting the punch. As Ward dropped to the ice due to the punch, mayhem ensued as Milan Lucic gave it his all to get his hands on Walker. Walker was assessed a 5 minute major (As was Ward somehow, how you get a 5 minute major for fighting when you don't throw a punch is beyond me, but hey, who am I, right?), 2 minute minor for instigating and 10 minute misconduct. As NHL rules state, a player who gets the instigator penalty within 5 minutes of the game's end is subject to a one game suspension from the following game. However, the NHL rulebook means nothing to NHL V.P Colin Campbell.

Campbell decided to rescind the suspension issued to Walker, and instead hit him with a 2,500 dollar fine. Essentially, that's nothing to a guy who makes 2.5 million dollars a season. I'm sure that 1% loss of his salary will really teach him a lesson, good job Campbell. Perhaps the part that gets me most angry as a hockey fan is the fact that Ward's status for Game 6 is unknown as it's possible he suffered a broken orbital bone on the punch, meanwhile that coward known as Scott Walker gets to play. Perhaps even more sickening than the actual punch itself, is the quotes coming out of the Carolina camp today.

“Scott probably has sore knuckles,” 'Canes coach Paul Maurice said following the 4-0 loss last night. Funny, considering if the roles were reversed and Shawn Thornton were to strike Joe Corvo, Dennis Seidenberg or Joni Pitkanen in the face you know Maurice wouldn't be cracking jokes. However, the yapping from Carolina doesn't just end with Maurice; "After our team received several punches throughout the series leading up to Game 5, it was a matter of time before one was going to be thrown back." said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford. I'd honestly love to know what 'punches' he's referring to as the Bruins haven't gotten into any fights before Game 5 and there's been little to no face-washing in this entire series.

There's no doubt that the Hub of Hockey is surely frustrated with Campbell's ruling considering his recent disciplinarian actions against Milan Lucic in the first round of the playoffs. If you recall, Lucic was suspended for a "forceful blow to the head" of Canadiens center and pest Maxim Lapierre. One must ask, how was Walker's punch to the face not deemed forceful?

However, don't expect the man in red wearing the number 24 to get off easy tomorrow night. He's angered the entire Bruins roster and will surely have a target on his back. On top of Walker's actions, another player likely to be targeted for trashings and hard hits by the Black and Gold is Jussi Jokinen, who's slash to the back of Zdeno Chara's leg gave a scare to the entire Bruins roster, coaches and fans. As the Bruins are to commit their clean, but swift action of vigilante justice one thing's for sure, this series has officially gotten nasty, and it couldn't have happened at a better time.

To Believe, Or Not To Believe

Well, it's official. The Boston Bruins back's are up against the proverbial wall. There's no tomorrow for the Bruins if they don't win tonight's Game 5 showdown at the TD Banknorth Garden; As with just one more loss against the Carolina Hurricanes the Bruins will be knocked out of the series 4 games to 1. However, all faith should not be lost as this task albeit daunting, is not impossible. In fact, it's already been done once so far in this year's playoffs. For all you doubters, here are your reasons to "Believe in the B" for Game 5 and the rest of the series.

Firstly, the powerplay cold streak has been snapped. The Bruins went into Friday night's Game 4 going 0 for their last 16 powerplay attempts, but broke that with a Marc Savard powerplay goal. With Boston's playoff lives on the line expect to see Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic trying to direct the tip-in's in front of the red hot Ward. The Bruins also possess veteran know how. Aaron Ward has been apart of 3 Stanley Cup winning teams. Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle are right behind Ward with 2 Stanley Cup rings of their own. Their presence and leadership are welcomed greatly in what could be a nerve-filled locker room. However, there's also 10 players in the Carolina locker room with Stanley Cup experience.

Also, somewhat expected turn of events has occurred: Tim Thomas and the rest of the Bruins are beginning to have a hatred for the 'Canes. It's been said by the Vezina trophy finalist that he's developed a hatred for the Raleigh based franchise and when the Bruins get angry, they pick up their intensity. (See: Dallas Stars game in November, April 9th vs. Montreal and January 13th vs. Montreal.). The Bruins are also at home, there was no team better at home in the Eastern Conference than the Boston Bruins during the 2008-09 season. With 17,565 screaming fans behind them, the Bruins will surely have some added fire and fury in their step. If all goes accordingly, the Bruins could be back in Boston for a Game 7.

One of the biggest factors going into tonight is the fact that they've been here before. Just last year, the Bruins found themselves in a 3-1 hole against the first seeded Montreal Canadiens. They fought back to bring the series to a decisive Game 7, despite losing it showed the heart in the Boston Bruins. The heart of the 2008-09 Boston Bruins has yet to be seen, and with a much more talented roster this season it'll be interesting to see how they come out tonight.

Perhaps the largest mind-block that the Bruins need to get over in order to win is that contrary to popular belief, Cam Ward can be beat. The Carolina net-minder has been virtually unbeatable over the past 3 games, or at least it's appeared that way. However, the Bruins have put minimal pressure on the 25 year old Saskatoon native. Outside of the 16 shot 3rd period of Game 2, Ward hasn't faced more than 10 shots in a period. It's time for Kessel, Recchi, Ryder, Krejci, and Chara to fire away and make Ward uncomfortable in between the iron.

Wheeler In, Ference Out: Game 4 Preview

With the Bruins 4 hours away from dropping the puck in essentially must win game Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes, it's confirmed that Blake Wheeler will in fact play. Despite the good news, the Bruins were hit with bad and somewhat expected news as Andrew Ference will not suit up and play tonight. It appears that Ference re-aggravated the lower body injury that he sustained in an April 4th matinee against the New York Rangers.

Ference, a mainstay on the Bruins 2nd defensive pairing and alternate captain missed all of the 1st round against Montreal before returning in Game 1 against Carolina. Ference was a +1 in the first 3 games of the series, and was averaging over 15 minutes on ice per game. Although the lost of Ference is surely what the Bruins don't need at this point in the series, there's no need to count them out for Game 4, and the rest of the series for that matter as the "Sheriff" Shane Hnidy will step in for Ference.

Hnidy has played in just 3 of the Bruins playoff games so far, scoring 1 goal and providing more physicality into the Bruins defense. The Bruins have won all 3 games in which Hnidy has dressed, and Hnidy himself has a +2 in the playoffs. He comes into tonight's game averaging a little under 15 minutes per game, making Ference's subtraction from the line-up and Hnidy's addition a fair trade off.

One of the biggest tasks on hand for the Boston Bruins to succeed will be playing defense as a cohesive unit. In Game 3, the Bruins defense struggled greatly to contain Eric Staal and the rest of the 'Canes high powered offense. As the Bruins defense focuses on containing Staal, they must keep an eye on the 'Canes secondary scoring. Jussi Jokinen is quietly having a Conn Smyth-worthy post-season, Carolina's top defensive pairing of Joni Pitkanen and Joe Corvo have been tallying up the points and Ray Whitney and Chad Larose have proved to be great line-mates for Eric Staal. Considering Mark Stuart's strong play throughout the entire playoffs, expect to see the Stuart and Hnidy pairing log some serious minutes in their effort to stop Carolina early and often.

For tonight's game, the biggest key will be putting the pressure on Cam Ward early. As demonstrated in Game 1, the Bruins rattled Wardo early and went on to win 4-1. Since then, the 25 year old Saskatoon native has been automatic. He's 2-0 with a .966 SV% in game's 1 and 2 and is looking to follow up with yet another strong performance in front of the hometown crowd. Although Ward's stats thus far have been impressive, he has yet to face the full pressure of the Boston offense. Boston's 0-9 on the powerplay in this series, and as stated before have been out shot in 7 out of the 10 periods of play in the series; truly an unusual position for the NHL's 2nd best scoring team behind the Detroit Red Wings. With tonight's game being a phenomenal chance for the Bruins to tie this series up before heading back to Boston and the 17,000+ yellow towels waving for them expect this to be the biggest test for the Bruins heart.

Wheeler Doubtful For Game 4

The Boston Bruins may have just caught a lucky break. It appears that rookie winger Blake Wheeler will be out for tomorrow night's game between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. Late in the 2nd period, Wheeler dropped down and blocked a shot. Although successful, the 22 year old was unable to escape the incident without injury. Wheeler played through the rest of the game and into the overtime period, but appeared afflicted by the apparent injury. His intensity was not there, neither was his physical presence.

Granted, Wheeler has never truly been a physical presence but it definitely appeared that something was off. Despite Wheeler being one of the bright spots of the Boston Bruins season, his possible absence in Game 4 may be just what the Bruins need. If Wheeler's to miss tomorrow night's showdown, it's likely that fellow rookie Byron Bitz will step into the Boston line-up. Wheeler has been held off the scoreboard in all 7 of the Bruins playoff games, a disappointing showing from the Robbinsdale, Minnesota native. Meanwhile, Bitz nabbed himself an assist in the 1 playoff game he appeared in.

I've been calling for a Byron Bitz appearance since the conclusion of Game 1 between the Bruins and 'Canes, simply because Blake Wheeler hasn't looked like Blake Wheeler. Number 26 hasn't been as aggressive, tenacious or energetic at getting the puck and creating offensive chances in any of the Bruins post-season games. Whereas Bitz has shown his hunger and eagerness to be playing in the spotlight. With the momentum fully in Carolina's corner, the addition of an eager Byron Bitz and subtraction of what appears to be a gassed Blake Wheeler could be a positive step for the Boston Bruins.

No Time For A Breakdown

I'm sure if you ask any Bruins fan, this isn't how this series was supposed to go. A little less than a half hour ago, the Bruins dropped Game 3 to the Carolina Hurricanes to fall into a 1-2 deficit in the best of 7 series. As Boston's frustration grows like a Tim Thomas playoff beard, we're left asking "What is happening?", or more like "What isn't happening?".

Surely, the Bruins have the edge on the 'Canes in the defensive department, right? Captain Zdeno Chara and Aaron Ward have been an excellent pairing, playing considerably well against the Eric Staal line. However, they can't be out there 60 minutes every game. Steve Montador, a trade deadline pick-up obtained from Anaheim for Petteri Nokelainen has looked absolutely lost out there. He's repeatedly making mistakes in his own zone, misses passes and simply not making passes. Tonight, was perhaps Monty's best example of his playoff incompetence.

In the closing minutes of the 2nd period, the Hurricanes were on a rush up the ice when Steve Montador threw himself down to his knees in an attempt to stop Sergei Samsonov. Not only did this attempt fail, but it actually gave Samsonov an even better shot option. First off Steve, you're not a goalie, you're a defensemen; dropping into the butterfly isn't going to help you. The puck crossed the red line past Tim Thomas and the Hurricanes were up 2-1. As Bruins fans cry out for Shane Hnidy to step in for Montador, it appears they'll get their wish. In a bittersweet way however, as Andrew Ference left the game and did not return which likely means the Steve "The Trainwreck" Montador will remain in the line-up.

It's possible that Aaron Ward said it best during an intermission interview during Game 2 from the Bruins bench, "We're playing pretty, not gritty..and that's not us.". Truer words were never spoken, the Bruins aren't playing as the same grit, claw your way to victory type of team that we've become accustomed to since the season's first game. There's no doubting that Cam Ward is a spectacular goalie, but that doesn't mean every shot taken needs to be a dangle stick attempt from an NHL09 video game. David Krejci, Michael Ryder and Phil Kessel, all key components in the Bruins 4 game sweep of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1st round have all been making attempts at the highlight reel goals rather than the quick wrist shots and passes we've come to expect from them.

An accurate judgement of the Bruins fanciness is the fact that the Bruins have out shot the Hurricanes just 3 out of the 10 periods of play so far. The lack of offensive pressure is inexcusable, as the Bruins continue to sputter on the powerplay as with their 0-2 performance they fall to 0-9 on the powerplay in the series. In fact, they've been terrible in all aspects of their special teams, giving up 1 and a half (I count the fact that it needed to be reviewed in Game 2 as a half goal, but that's a discussion for another day) is disheartening to any team.

The Bruins and 'Canes don't do battle again until Friday night, but I'll be shocked if we don't see some changes for Game 4. It's time for Blake Wheeler to watch the game from the press box as he's shown a lack of consistent effort, especially for someone logging 2nd line forward minutes. It's also a good time to reunite the Axelsson-Savard-Kessel line and drop Lucic down to the Krejci line with Michael Ryder. The 3rd line of Recchi-Bergeron-Kobasew has been the hardest working line for the Bruins throughout the 7 playoff games, therefore there's no need to break up this group. With Axelsson onto the 1st line, you simply slide Bitz onto the 4th line with veteran face-off man Stephane Yelle and the bruising Shawn Thornton.

The pressure's all on Boston heading into Game 4, the Hurricanes have the advantage of 18,000 Caniacs sure to make life difficult for the Boston Bruins and the lead in the series. The keys to a Bruins win are recognizing the Hurricanes offensive weapons not named Eric Staal; Jussi Jokinen is quietly having a spectacular postseason full of clutch goals and playmaking. Also, send a message to Carolina that this is not going to be a walk in the park. Don't let them run into Thomas, don't even let them get near Thomas. They've taken enough liberties on the Vezina favorite, and for Bobby Orr's sake, play 60 minutes of hockey.

The What If's Of Round One

For teams like the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils, it's another year of disappointing first round exits. For the Sharks and Flyers, it was a step back in their movement towards a Stanley Cup when considering their playoff success last year. Then you have teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues it was a step in the right direction, as their years of development and trips in last place are seeming to pay off as they found themselves in the playoffs. However, for the losers, they can't help but ask "What if...?"

Eastern Conference

David Putty may be on the New Jersey Devils side, but for the second year in a row, Marty and company were sent packing in the 1st round. What if right winger Jamie Langenbrunner didn't miss 3 crucial games of the series with a lower body injury? The Captain posted 3 points in 4 games, despite the Devils only winning 1 of the 4 games he played in. What if the Devils powerplay played up to their potential and did better than the pathetic 3-25 they ended with?

The Philadelphia Flyers may believe they have the "toughest fans in hockey" (they even make t-shirt's that say it) but it couldn't stop them from losing their series to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice in 6 games. The biggest what if for the Flyers has to be what if leading goal scorer Jeff Carter actually showed up? Carter had just 1 goal with a -1 in the 6 game series, compare that to his 46 goals in the regular season. What if Captain Mike Richards wasn't playing through 2 injured shoulders? Despite his injury, the 24 year old Richards put up 5 points, making us wonder what he could have done if he were at 100%.

John Tortorella was the driving force behind the re-emergence of the New York Rangers, but one bottle throwing incident later the Rangers were sent home on a disgusting Sergei Federov wrist-shot. As Ranger fans pack up their rally towels into their closet along with their Mark Messier jersey, they have a few questions they should ponder. What if Henrik Lundqivst played less than 70 games during the regular season, would he have been better? That argument could be easily shut down as he's played over 70 games in 3 straight Regardless of Henrik, what if John Tortorella didn't throw the bottle at the crowd that was heckling him? The Rangers coach was suspended for Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, a game they could have arguably won had they had their head coach behind the bench. The fact that Sean Avery showed everyone else on the Rangers roster up with his high level of intensity in his play after being benched is a knock to the entire Rangers rosters heart.

What a 100th year celebration for the Montreal Canadiens, in case you didn't know, it was their 100th season. It was rarely talked about (note the sarcasm.). In fact, it was actually their 99th season for those who are curious, but that's a discussion for another day. What if the Montreal Canadiens had a healthy Andrei Markov? In my opinion, that still wouldn't have mattered. The Bruins went 4-0-1 against Montreal with Markov in the line-up. The biggest what if in my opinion was, what if Carey Price was as good as everyone billed him as? The simple answer is, he's just not that good. He's looking a lot more like the next Andrew Raycroft rather than the next Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy with his head-case like attitude and inconsistency.

Western Conference

Yet another year where the San Jose Sharks come into the NHL Playoffs as favorites in the West, and yet another year of disappointment. The team added Anaheim Ducks forward Travis Moen, who went pointless in the 6 game series with a -4 as he got ousted by his former team. What if Joe Thornton decided to show up for more than just Game 5? Excluding Game 5, Jumbo Joe had 0 goals and just 2 assists in the other 5 games, continuing to gain his reputation of being a playoff choke artist. Also, what if the Anaheim Ducks had gone with J.S Giguere as their goaltender? Jonas Hiller absolutely stole the series, the 27 year old Swiss goaltender went 4-1-1 with a 1.65 GAA and 2 shut-outs in the 1st round.

How is Mike Keenan still the coach of the Calgary Flames? The team sputtered in Game 6 against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves out in the 1st round for the 4th year in a row. Rumor has it that Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff has a bit of a "problem", whether that's drugs or alcohol isn't really talked about, but at the same time, you can't blame his struggles on a drug rumor. However, what if Kipper didn't play in 76 of the Flames games this season? I don't care if you're Patrick freakin' Roy, that's an absurd amount of games to play and still be effective in the playoffs. It was clear that Miikka was spent, his play spoke for itself as he finished the series with a 3.52 GAA. Also, what if the Flames didn't trade for Olli Jokinen? Jokinen played well in the series, but it's a very possible theory that the Flames lost more depth than they gained when they traded for Olli.

Despite losing half of their salary cap to injuries, the St. Louis Blues salvaged their way into the 6th seed in the Western Conference led by head-coach Andy Murray. The biggest what if of course is, what if the St. Louis Blues were a healthy team? They were without top defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost LW Paul Kariya in the 1st month of the regular season. Another question Blues fan could ask was, what if the Blues stayed in the 8th seed and faced San Jose? Roberto Luongo proved to be impossible to beat for the Canucks, but if the Blues had drawn San Jose in the 1st round, one could make the argument that the Blues could have pushed the Sharks to 6 or 7 games, and win.

Perhaps there was no team happier to be in the playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite their spectacular season anchored by rookie goaltender Steve Mason, the Jackets fell in 4 games to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Nobody really expected them to take the series, but their lack of a hard-fought 6-7 game series was somewhat of a letdown. However, what if Rick Nash scored more than 1 goal in the 4 game sweep? Nash's only goal came in Game 4's 6-5 loss, certainly a disappointing series for the Columbus Captain. Despite their loss, all is not lost for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason is a Vezina finalist at just 20 years old and the future is definitely bright for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Laughable: Lucic Suspended?

According to NHL.com, the NHL has suspended Boston Bruins LW Milan Lucic indefinitely following his cross check to Maxim Lapierre in the 3rd period of Saturday's 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Following a blown whistle, a what has been annoying Maxim Lapierre came charging at Lucic to step between his scrum with defensemen Mathieu Schneider. As Lapierre came charging at Lucic, Lucic raised his stick and gave an apparent cross-check to the face of Maxim Lapierre.

As mayhem ensued as it does with any Montreal vs. Boston game, Habs 'tough-guy' Mike Komisarek joined the chaos and ripped Lucic's helmet off. Following a 3 minute delay of play, Lucic was given a 5 minute game misconduct for the cross-check and was sent to the dressing room. However, the bigger news didn't come out until after the game.

As many Bruins fans got home and onto their computers, they soon found out that Lucic had received a match penalty and will be suspended until a disciplinary hearing was held. Of course, the hearing is pending but in all seriousness, has can the NHL honestly give Lucic a suspension for this?

Just two days ago, in the final seconds of Boston's 4-2 win over the Canadiens in Game 1 an incident occurred in the Bruins corner. Tom Kostopoulos made a clear as day intent to injure elbow to the head of Matt Hunwick.

Now, you can't watch that and try to seriously say that Kosto wasn't going for the TKO on Matt Hunwick's head. Now for a league who's current aim is to reduce injuries to the heads of their players, to let such an action go without any punishment is laughable. However, the cross check to the helmet of Lapierre is worth a suspension? What about Cammelleri's punch to Havlat's head? Thank you Colin Campbell, thank you for proving your inconsistency yet again.

Matt Hunwick Hospitalized

It's been a rough week for Matt Hunwick. After getting his eye-gouged by Mike Komisarek, news broke this morning of the Bruins rookie being taken to a Boston area hospital. Following a team meeting at the Bruins practice rink in Wilmington, it's said that Hunwick "didn't feel right". From there the trainers called an ambulance, and Hunwick was taken.

"It's related to his spleen, and that's all I can tell you right now" a concerned Claude Julien said to the media. He followed that up by saying there was no prior knowledge that something was wrong. "He was fine," said Julien. "When he entered this morning he was still feeling fine.". At the moment, little information is available to anyone, even the Bruins as everything happened so fast. When asked if Hunwick lost consciousness Julien told the media "Not to my knowledge".

For many NHL fans, this story seems very familiar to one that happened during last years NHL playoffs. New York Rangers LW Sean Avery suffered a lacerated spleen during last year's playoffs. For Avery, the injury was sustained in a collision during an Eastern Conference Semi-Finals game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although it's unknown if Matt's injury is as severe as the injury that ended Sean Avery's 2007 post-season, the history of spleen injuries and the playoffs are not promising. Dating back to as far as 2001, Peter Forsberg suffered stomach pains, upon further tests it was revealed that the Avalanche star had a ruptured spleen, forcing him to miss the next 2 rounds of the NHL Playoffs.

As for the next question of who'll fill in for Hunwick, it's not hard to realize that Shane Hnidy will probably be playing in the Bruins line-up tonight. The 33 year old Hnidy played in 65 games for the Boston Bruins, scoring 12 points (3 G 9 A) and finishing with a +6. He often found himself in the press box at seasons end due to the arrival of Steve Montador and consistently strong play of Matt Hunwick. However, Hnidy will have no problem shaking off any rust he may have as he played in the Bruins final 3 games of the regular season.

Model of Inconsistency: Colin Campbell

It's safe to say NHL VP and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell has already had a busy playoffs. He's already suspended Flyers enforcer Daniel Carcillo for 1 game following his face-off punch to the head of Penguins forward Maxime Talbot. He followed this up by not suspending Flames forward Michael Cammalleri for his in my opinion, far more vicious punch to the head of Martin Havlat. Following last night's battle in Boston, Colin's work is just beginning.

Following Phil Kessel's empty net goal that secured a Bruins victory in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal agitator Maxim Lapierre took a run at Kessel. Following a scrum in the corner of the ice (and Alex Kovalev losing his stick to a fan reaching through the glass) play resumed with just a few seconds left. The Bruins won the face off and took the puck into their own zone when Montreal "tough guys" Tom Kostopoulos and Mike Komisarek decided to take a run at Bruins players.

Kostopoulos took a run at Matt Hunwick, going for a vicious elbow attempt to the Bruins rookie's head. The attempt was soon followed by mayhem. Komisarek then went at Hunwick and looked to be going for Hunwick's eyes with his fingers (Eye poking? Really Montreal, really?), as if that wasn't enough to get you miffed, they did this of course without Zdeno Chara or Milan Lucic on the ice.

Surely as a bloody eyed Matt Hunwick left the ice you would think some repercussions would be taken against the sore sportsmanlike conduct of the Canadiens. Following Carcillo's late game punch, Campbell went on a rant about the non-toleration of "message sending" in games that were decided. How was this any different? Going at a players eye when the game is out of reach and in it's final seconds isn't Montreal's feeble attempt at sending a message to Boston?

Fact is, Montreal was frustrated. They dressed Laraque, they even put the guy on the top line and they still couldn't beat Boston. They tried playing Boston's style of play, and still lost. They're without Markov, still. In a game where the Bruins played like garbage for almost two whole periods the Habs still could not pull off the upset. So what happened? Quite simply, Montreal lost it. What's your thoughts on their actions Mr.Campbell?

"You've got to let the games unfold. You've got to let hockey be hockey, playoffs be playoffs. You've got to let the energy flow. And then, when they cross that line, you do what you have to do." a somewhat-comical Campbell said about the incident in Boston. So what will he do when that said line was crossed? Nothing.

Eye-gauging and eye-poking is nothing new to Colin Campbell. In March 2009, Campbell suspended Dallas Stars pest and Boston nemesis Steve Ott following an attempted eye gauge of Ducks forward Travis Moen. Ott's suspension was for one game. However by Campbell's standards, a bloody Hunwick leaving the ice doesn't prove to be enough to send a message to the cowards of Montreal. Colin Campbell once again proves himself as the model of inconsistency in the NHL.